bacota
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Hello fellow anglers,
I'm heading to Missoula for St. Patty's day weekend this year to visit a friend who just recently moved out there. From there, we are going to head down to Butte for a couple days. I plan on bringing the fly rod along and doing some fishing out there. Does anyone have any any recommendations on places to try in the Missoula area as well as on the drive from there to Butte? Thanks!
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The Dude abides.
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BorntoFish
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Bitterroot River south of Missoula has some prime fly fishing I'm told. I'm not a fly-guy. Some nice looking water and very scenic country.  
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Mojo
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Should be about Prime Time for Skwala Stones on Rock Creek and the Bitteroot. It's worth the 10 hour drive just for that alone. St. Patrick's Day in Butte is one of the biggest parties I have ever been to. I'll pray for your liver, and the drag on your fly reel.
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Tight Lines,
Mojo
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CaughtSteelin
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lookin for some fish mojo
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rock creek is on the way to butt.flint creek is good water to.
you'll be needing some rest for St.pattys in Butt,and even more after. 
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bacota
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That's what I've heard about Butte - should be interesting. I'm pumped already (and a bit scared- ME-->  ) Bailey's in the coffee and Guinness for dinner.
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The Dude abides.
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Mojo
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Add Bushmills and tying flies for a nightcap, and you have the makings of a fine road trip. Good luck, and post pics!
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Tight Lines,
Mojo
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CaughtSteelin
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try stumbling around town at 3am with a falling apart 12 pack lookin for your hot tub.
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Let our kids enjoy fishing...Join CCA today
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Lilfisher
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The Big Hole River south of Butt has some big Browns fished it a couple years ago with good success! Get some of the Green bread when you are in Butt that is good stuff!! LIL
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Edited by Lilfisher (02/10/07 01:07 AM)
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bacota
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Thanks LIL, I'll have to try the bread and the Big Hole River - this vacation is taking forever to get here! I'll be sure to post pics
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Dustin2
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hook nose
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I have a buddy that is going to collage in Missoula. His famaily lives in the Flathead valley, and the Flathead river has some big cutties in it when i fished it with him. There were also some big dollies that we never hooked. But we got some nice cutties out of there. I dont think its that far of a drive but thats the only river I have fished over there. have a good trip Dustin
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Pinch_of_Snuff
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Patty's in Butte... hahaha, talk about a sh*t show. Hope you and your liver have been training hard.
No joke on the Stones although Rock Creek is getting real crowded. Had good luck on the Bitter about the same time last year.
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slim
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sockeye
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I posted under your fly fishing post.
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"The fishing was so good, I thought I was there yesterday." Dave Engerbretson
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alanmikkelsen
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The Bass Ackwards Captain
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If you're in Butte, hit I-15 south to Dillon, fish the Big Hole on the way down, and then the Beaverhead. Both really great.
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50 years of foolin' fish.
Bass Ackwards: The art and science of hurtling blindly in the wrong direction with no sense of the impending doom about to be inflicted on one's sorry ass. Usually applied to procedures, processes, or theories based on faulty logic, or faulty personnel.
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bacota
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Alanmik,
So is the access from the highway?
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alanmikkelsen
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Rock Creek excellent, Bitterroot, Big Hole, and Beaverhead all fish best from a boat or raft, but all have fishing access that will allow you to fish large portions. Montana has a stream access law, as long as you stay below the high water mark, you can go any where along the stream.
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50 years of foolin' fish.
Bass Ackwards: The art and science of hurtling blindly in the wrong direction with no sense of the impending doom about to be inflicted on one's sorry ass. Usually applied to procedures, processes, or theories based on faulty logic, or faulty personnel.
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KingSamo
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if you just want to catch fish and not work to hard, hit the tail race at Opportunity Ponds on the way to Butte. Rock Creek and the Bitteroot will both be full of wanna be "river runs through it" snobs right now, so be aware. I would also guess that if you get to far up Rock Creek you will run into winter.
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Hug it out Bitch!
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bacota
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Thanks Samo,
What do you mean by "river runs through it" snobs? People who don't want to share the river?
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The Dude abides.
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KingSamo
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Fly fishing wanna be's that never fly fished until they saw the movie:) There all about the "look" and thats about it. You put some fancy clothes and gear on them and all of a sudden they think there experts. I thank Robert Redford for that.......
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Hug it out Bitch!
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bacota
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Well I'll be darned if this trip actually got here - I thought it never would. I'll be heading east here in a couple hours, and I just wanted to say thanks to all who offered their advice, both here and on my other post in the Fly Fishing forum. I'll be sure to get pics posted as soon as I return to the wetside (that is if I survive Butte on St. Patty's Day).
Cheers, Andy 
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The Dude abides.
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Mojo
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I hope your liver and kidneys are in good shape. Take pics of the night life if you dare...
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Tight Lines,
Mojo
TEAM MOOSE DROOL
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bacota
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Well,
Sorry it took me so long to post these, but that's how long it takes to recover from St. Patty's day in Butte. Like one of my buddies said the day after, St. Patrick's day has definitely moved up a few knotches on my "coolest holiday" list.
Fishing was not as good as it could have been. We got in two solid days, one on the east fork of the Bitterroot, which produced the largest fish, a nice 18 inch brown. And the other day was at Rock Creek, which picked up a few bows and a cutt.
Thanks to all for the advice, here's a few pics.
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The Dude abides.
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bacota
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Try that again....
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The Dude abides.
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bacota
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Out of order, but you get the picture
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The Dude abides.
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Pinch_of_Snuff
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Nice looking fish. Good times as well.
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Take It Easy. If It's Too Easy, Take It Twice..
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bacota
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Loc: Seattle, WA
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Well, this trip was so much fun last year, we're going again! Heading out a week from today and time seems to be crawling.  Might be a longshot, but i gotta ask - Anyone doing any fishing out in the Missoula and Butte area? I know there's a few folks on the board that live out that way.
I'm looking forward to the party too, last year was effin crazy. My buddy didn't lose a single shotgun contest - although the next morning, he was definitely the loser.
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The Dude abides.
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bacota
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Leaving tomorrow, I will post a report...if I make it back. 
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The Dude abides.
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Mojo
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Good luck, and we'll pray for your liver again...
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Tight Lines,
Mojo
TEAM MOOSE DROOL
TEAM SMOKIN' MERC
TEAM JACKSON BALDWIN
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bacota
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Well, we had a great trip again, but this time we had a bit of bad intel on the part of my buddy who lives in Missoula. He thought that the Butte party would be going down on Saturday because St. Patty's was on a Monday, but that wasn't the case. Big thanks to the guys who helped us out with that tidbit of knowledge. Our first day of fishing provided these few fish.
So instead of making the trip to Butte, we partied at the Jack (Lumberjack Saloon). Rented a cabin up there and pretty much had the bar to ourselves. This was by far one of the coolest bars I've ever been to. It's an old log cabin bar that's been there 74 years (if my drunken memory serves me correctly). I met some really cool dudes out there including a skydiving cowboy named Chuck who taught me how to drink crappy tequila. Chase it with Clamato Juice and you don't even know what hit you. This is the deadliest combination I have yet to drink due to its taming of even the cheapest of Tequilas. Here's chuck showin' us youngsters how things are done.
Things got a little hazy but that tends to happen...thank God the camera has a better memory than I...
Though in Doogie's case, the camera's memory might not have been a good thing:
The final day of fishing turned up another whitefish and a brown
After releasing the whitefish it just sat there looking exactly like the bottom of the river.
Can't wait to go back when things warm up and try a few other rivers.
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The Dude abides.
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Mojo
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Nothing worse than being T-Bagged by a dog.
Congrats on another successful trip. Glad to see your liver is still alive and kicking.
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Tight Lines,
Mojo
TEAM MOOSE DROOL
TEAM SMOKIN' MERC
TEAM JACKSON BALDWIN
Alaksa Nitro Baits Pro Staff
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bacota
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Loc: Seattle, WA
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Round 3, drink!
So a week from today we're heading out for the third round of this Montana fishing/drinking extravaganza. This year though is going to be a bit different in that we're gonna be camping. My buddy is the one with the specifics on where, but I know we're either camping on Rock Creek (I think he said near Philipsburg?), and if that's too iced up, we'll be somewhere on the Bitterroot (I think he said by Hamilton, but again, I'm not positive on that). But, as always, I'm open to suggestions (other than dress warm and not wash my colors and whites together ) if anyone has any , especially where we might find some decent fishing. I know a lot will probably depend on what happens to the weather after the current storm passes.
Also, anyone think there might be any sheds around this time of year? I've never really tried shed hunting and only found one incidentally last year while on my first deer hunt, but I figure if the fishing stinks, we could just hike around and try to see some critters.
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The Dude abides.
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